Naïve Little Girl
by whitetiger91
Summary: All Pansy had done was try to make sure everyone was safe. It was only Potter, after all, their sworn enemy. So why was she the one being treated as a traitor?


**Na** **ï** **ve Little Girl**

"What was I supposed to do? Have them kill all of us?" she said, looking around at all the grim faces.

They stared back at her, their eyes accusing. _You're a coward,_ they seemed to say. _What a bitch, always looking out for herself and no one else._

Huffing, she folded her arms and leant back against the wall. A fifth year shuffled a little away from her, sneering as though she was a Mudblood. Pansy narrowed her eyes at them, daring them to say a word. They glared back at her and moved further away.

A large bang echoed from the floor above, sending small pieces of the dungeon ceiling down on them. She jumped, covering her head with her arms. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as faint screams soon followed.

"What do you suppose is happening up there?" a third year asked, his dark eyes wide.

Pansy rolled her eyes at him, opening her mouth to tell him that people were dying, of course. An icy glare from Theodore Nott shut her up, however, and she crossed her arms again.

Turning to the younger boy, Theodore said, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. It's probably just the professors putting up protective barriers."

"Oh," the boy said, nodding slowly. He gasped when another bang sounded—this time closer—and turned back to Theodore. "That didn't sound like the professors," he said.

"Of course it isn't, stupid!" Pansy snapped. "It's the Death Eaters trying to get in."

The boy looked like he was on the verge of tears, yet he crossed his own arms and pouted. "I'm not stupid."

Blaise Zabini, who was standing between Theodore and the younger Slytherin, patted the boy on the shoulder. "No, you're not," he said with a small smile.

Theodore was still glaring at her, as were a few other students.

 _You're such a typical snake; the worst of the lot. Nothing but a selfish cow._

She turned to Daphne to back her up but found the girl was also glowering at her. Daphne was supposed to be her friend—her best friend. Sure, they had had their fair share of disagreements in the past, but so had everyone else. Pansy was only pointing out the truth, and better yet, had only wanted to out Potter so the lot of them didn't have to pay for his mistakes.

"You'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning," she said.

Daphne pursed her lips. "At least I'll have friends at the end of this."

The room shook at that moment and more of the stone ceiling crumbled away. Yet another blast had gone off, and now shouted curses from outside the room could be heard as clear as day. The candles all flickered with the trembling, and soon several of the flames were extinguished, bathing the room in darkness. A few students screamed, but within a few seconds, several of the older students were holding their wands high, using the Lumos charm to illuminate the room once more.

The little boy began to cry, as did several other students. Pansy closed her eyes for a second and held onto the wall, trying to steady her rapidly beating heart.

Everything would be ok. It was just a little bump she had to overcome, that was all, and soon she would be reunited with her parents. Afterall, she was a Pureblood, and the Dark Lord would never hurt her, would he?

Opening her eyes, she saw some of her housemates hugging each other. The shaking finally stopped, and she let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Taking out her wand, she murmured " _lumos_ " herself, using the light as a personal bit of comfort.

Apart from the students who were sobbing, silence reigned. Nobody seemed to want to speak, each person wrapped up in their own thoughts as they listened to the shouts and running footsteps outside. They had all ceased staring at her as though she were the enemy.

It was about time, too. All she had done was request that Potter be handed into the Dark Lord. If they had listened to her, then maybe they wouldn't be forced to sit down in the cold dungeons, wondering what would happen to them next. In fact, they probably would have been rewarded for turning him in. They would be praised, and the Dark Lord would have no cause to hurt them… Not that he did now…

Pansy looked around at her peers. None of them was looking back at her, yet their thoughts seemed to ring clear: _Idiot. Fool._

She closed her eyes once more, taking a few deep breaths. Her parents trusted in the Pureblood cause. They were smart people, they knew what they were talking about. Why would they put their faith into something—or someone—that would kill them?

 _Naive little girl._

"What do you think is happening out there?" a girl asked, breaking the silence. It was the fifth year who had moved away from her earlier, but now, instead of glaring tears were streaming down her face.

Nobody answered straight away. They all looked up at the ceiling or towards the door that Professor Slughorn had sealed shut to protect them. He had reassured them all that they would be safe within the room and that he would come back for them should anything go terribly wrong, but it didn't seem like anyone believed him now. Their eyes all shone with fear, their frantic heartbeats almost audible.

It was Theodore who eventually answered. "Not anything good," he said, shooting a wary glance at the little boy. The young boy was too busy covering his ears with his palms, rocking back and forth as Blaise tried to comfort him. "I do think that Potter might have a good chance at stopping _him_ , though."

A few students murmured, some of them daring to look hopeful. Pansy blinked, not sure she was hearing their whispers of "I pray he does," correctly.

"You say that like it's a good thing," she said.

Theodore locked his gaze onto hers. Without so much as an indication that he was joking, he said, "I do."

Pansy's mouth dropped open. "You what?"

"I think it would be an amazing thing if Potter beats Voldemort," he said, ignoring the way she shivered at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "And I'm sure a lot of us feel that way, don't we?" he added, looking around the room as though challenging anyone to object.

He didn't need to bother, for as Pansy looked around, she saw most of the students nodding. She raised her hands to her eyes and rubbing them, more than positive now that someone had hit her with a Confundus charm of sorts.

"You're kidding, aren't you? We're Slytherins! We support the Dark Lord!" she said.

Theodore shrugged. "I don't," he said, and was soon echoed by Blaise.

"But—but your father is a Death Eater! And you're a Pureblood and—"

The brunet held up his hand to silence her, shaking his head. His eyes still showed no sign that this was all some sort of elaborate prank and that he really did support the Dark Lord. Instead, they seemed to hold pity for her.

 _Oh, Pansy, how could you be so stupid?_ they appeared to say.

Daphne walked over to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She tried to shrug it off, but the blonde held tight.

"Think about it, Pans. Potter may be an annoying turd sometimes, but he would never kill an innocent. He would never make any of us bow to his will, or even make us become murderers ourselves. Are you really sure You-Know-Who would do the same?"

She nodded, ready to say she was, but Daphne held up a hand and added, "I mean, are you sure enough to put your life into his hands?"

"Absolutely," she said.

Theodore threw his hands up to the air. Daphne sighed, but her eyes were now searching her face.

 _Liar. You really don't believe that at all. Stop being such a coward and admit it._

A scream sounded nearby and everyone jumped. Pansy's heart leapt into her throat, and her flesh broke out in goosebumps. Her legs began to tremble and she was thankful that Daphne was holding onto her.

Theodore, who looked paler than normal, cleared his throat and looked around at everyone. "We need to keep the children here safe. Slughorn has put up charms, but we need anyone who is skilled enough to add their own to the dungeons to guarantee they won't collapse. We also need someone to keep guard at the door."

The room broke out into a mix of fresh whispers and sobs. No one moved, however, and Theodore stood taller.

"Now!" he shouted, and a few people jumped. Some of the fourth, fifth and sixth years who were sitting on the floor stood up and began to wave around the wands as instructed. Turning to those still motionless, he said, "As for me, I'm going out to do my bit and help the professors. If you don't want to join me, stay here and watch after the younger ones."

Pansy watched him then roll up his sleeves and storm over to one of the portraits in the dungeon. It was empty, the occupant having scattered long before they arrived, but the boy spoke to it anyway. Soon enough, it swung open, and he clambered inside. A few students walked over, eyes glinting, but Theodore poked his head back out.

"Don't bother following unless you want to help fight. This passage leads straight to the Entrance Hall, and there is no turning back," he said before disappearing once more.

Pansy scowled, wishing Theodore had been courteous enough to mention that there was a secret passage earlier. If he had, perhaps she would have been able to escape the dungeon room and find a way out of the school before danger arrived.

Some of the students who had walked over to the portrait hole walked away again, shoulders sagging. Only one or two followed Theodore out, a grim determination in their eyes.

Daphne let go of her, staring into her eyes. "Are you coming?" she asked.

Pansy shook her head.

The blonde sighed again and nodded. "Alright. Well, good luck then and stay safe," she said, and for a second Pansy thought she would hug her.

Instead, the girl turned away and headed on over to the portrait hole.

Pansy glanced around the room. The small group of Slytherins were all holding onto each other, sniffling and murmuring words of comfort. Only a few hours before they had all been asleep in their beds, no doubt dreaming about how good the world was turning out for them. Slytherin students were finally being respected; they were never given detention unless they refused to perform one of the curses the Carrows were teaching. They could roam the floors whenever they pleased, and as long as they could prove that they came from a good family, they were never harmed. Well, not that often, anyway; the Carrows only ever tested their magic on them in the first lesson to make sure none of them was weak enough to betray the cause.

Now, the whole lot of them were showing such weakness, believing that Potter was the one who would save them. How could a boy possibly save them all? _They_ were the traitors, not her.

No one was looking at her, yet still their accusations filled her ears.

 _Traitor. Liar. Selfish. Coward._

She tried to block them out, staring instead at the stone floor. The voices still came, and she closed her eyes.

 _Naive. Stupid. Snake._

Opening them again, Pansy looked around the room. Her peers were still busy comforting each other, no one paying any attention to her. The voices were in her head, sounding more and more like herself.

No, she believed in the cause. It was the right thing to do.

The little boy looked up at her, his navy eyes swimming with tears. Pansy's stomach churned and she found herself wondering if he would make it out of this battle alive. He appeared to be drawing comfort from what Blaise was saying to him, and as she listened in, she could hear his words: "The professors will keep us safe, alright? None of the bad people will get you, I promise."

As though sensing her presence, Blaise also looked up at her, repeating the same words over and over to the little boy.

 _You know I'm right_ , his dark eyes said.

Her body began to shake and she swallowed thickly. Breaking his stare, she turned back to the portrait hole. He was right; they were all right.

* * *

 _ **A/N: This story was written for Camp Potter hosted on the HPFC forum by Cheeky Slytherin Lass.**_

 _ **Week 4 Paintball: Write about someone changing sides during the war.**_

 _ **Optional prompts: 1. "What was I supposed to do?", 5. Clear.**_

 _ **Word count: 2133 words**_

 _ **Cabin: Malfoy**_

 _ **I apologise right now for the very short ending/ lack of a conclusion. I knew what I wanted to happen, but the words just didn't seem to want to come out on the page properly. Therefore, I'll leave it to you whether or not you think Pansy followed after Theo/ changed sides as he did, or if she just stayed there.**_


End file.
